Tue. May. 21, 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm

181 Roundhouse Mews, Vancouver, BC

http://www.eventbrite.ca/event/6594086089
Water is important to all of us, but it has recently become especially exciting to astronomers hunting for alien worlds.
We are now finding planets that orbit in the "habitable zones" around their parent stars. In astro-exoplanetary-science-speak, "habitable zone" translates as "the range of distances from a star where the temperature at a planet's surface is between 0 and 100 C." Think of it as a Goldilocks zone, where the planet is not too hot, not too cold, but "just right" for liquid water oceans to exist.
Water alone doesn't equal life. But "no water" equals "no life" as we know it. That equation applies not just on alien worlds, but on our home world as well. We can't experiment with the global environment (or at least we shouldn't) and astronomers can't experiment with conditions on other planets. But we're finding planets with conditions that astound even science fiction writers. Those extreme alien environments will help us refine models of how the Earth responds to change.

How do we search for exoplanets and what have we found so far? What can you expect in the next few years... indeed, in the next few months? What lessons can a student of global sustainability learn from a rocket scientist?

Listen to an astrophysicist grapple with these questions and hear his answers on Tuesday, 21 May at 6:30 pm.

Free Refreshments offered -- RVSP info@arpico.org
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Speaker: Prof. Jaymie Matthews

Recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal 2012
Professor of Astrophysics in the Department of Physics & Astronomy at the University of British Columbia
Mission Scientist leading the Canadian Space Agency's MOST project
Officer of the Order of Canada

Prof. Matthews’ media adventures include frequent appearances on CBC TV and Radio, CTV, Global, CNN, CityTV, The Knowledge Network, Shaw TV, and Space: The Imagination Station, as well as playing himself (“Jaymie – Rocket Scientist”) in a national Fountain Tire television ad campaign. Dr. Matthews posed in multiple guises (from a microwave repair man to an X-ray version of Austin Powers) in the Discovery Channel documentary series "Light: More Than Meets The Eye", and as himself in the documentary “LUNARCY!” which premiered at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival. He has yet to live down being quoted in Discover Magazine as saying "Exploding Star Contains Atoms from Elvis Presley's Brain - Scientists Confirm the King of Rock & Roll Lived in Another Galaxy 170,000 Years Ago!”

Tue. May. 21, 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm

918 Granville St, Vancouver, BC

http://www.pwias.ubc.ca/the-wall-exchange/2013-spring.php
"Bugs 'R Us: The Role of Microbes in Health, Disease and Society"

Tuesday, May 21, 2013 at 7:30 pm at The Vogue Theatre
Doors open at 6:30 pm. Come early to hear the Oscar Hicks jazz sextet!

Tickets are free but must be reserved and are in limited supply. Reserve your ticket online: http://voguetheatre.com/events/

Tue. May. 21, 7:30 pm - 11:30 pm

579 Dunsmuir St., Vancouver, BC

https://www.facebook.com/events/130386883822234/
Join us on the third Tuesday of the month at 7:30pm for another evening of skeptical fun, food, drinks, and conversation in the Railway Club's back bar. Come out and discuss skepticism-related activities in Vancouver with your fellow science enthusiasts, rationalists, and critical thinkers, and maybe meet some new friends.

If you arrive late and they're collecting a cover charge at the door, just tell them you're with the skeptics' group to get in for free.

Wed. May. 22, 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm

2066 Kingsway, Vancouver, BC

https://www.facebook.com/events/251906418282157/
CFI Vancouver is pleased to present a Public Forum Meeting. Do you have questions about CFI? Do you want to volunteer or get involved? What sorts of activism do you want CFI Vancouver to focus on? What kinds of Events would you like to see? These questions and more will be discussed at our Public Forum Meeting.

In order to involve our members, our supporters and the public who come to our events, we want these meetings to be a chance for people to ask us questions, suggest strategies and get involved in events. The meeting will be chaired by three representatives from CFI Vancouver and they will take questions from the audience on important topics relating to CFI.

This is an opportunity to make your voice heard, and let us know where you'd like us to director resources to help make Vancouver a more skeptical and humanist friendly city.

We will be meeting at the back room of the Tipper Restaurant. From 7pm to 8pm will be dinner and socializing and from 8pm to 9pm will be discussion by our CFI reps.

As the Tipper is generously giving us use of the back room for free, please consider coming and buying food and/or drinks.

Thu. May. 23, 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm

1455 Quebec St, Vancouver, BC

https://www.facebook.com/events/298177723648712/
Most science communicators are always on the lookout for ways to draw attention to and then educate about a topic, and using sex as a hook is an obvious way to accomplish the first. However, does the use of sex – or any other shocking hook for that matter – distract the attention from the real topic? Does it provide attention and possibly entertainment without adding any scientific value, or is it a useful tool to reach a broader audience when communicating science?

Using the current Science World exhibit “The Science of Sexuality” as a starting point we will get into the nitty grittys of using sex and other shocking hooks to draw people into a scientific debate.

Join us May 23 at 7 pm at TELUS World of Science. Follow the signs around Science World to enter through the doors at back of building. We strongly encourage everyone to bring their own wine/beer and snacks.

http://vancouver.scienceonline.com/2013/05/15/sex-shock-and-science/